Israel army disperses Lebanese protesters at border

Israel's army dispersed dozens of Lebanese demonstrators Saturday after they crossed the border protesting against the alleged installation of spying equipment in their village, the Israeli army and media said. "Dozens of people gathered at the border between Lebanon and Israel," a military spokeswoman said. "Upon the group crossing of the international border, IDF forces fired dispersal means in order to disperse the gathering and prevent further infiltration into Israeli territory," she said, adding there were no casualties. Israeli news website Ynet and the Lebanese national news agency said the soldiers used tear gas. Israeli media said the Lebanese protesters were demonstrating after information that the Israeli army had installed spying equipment in their village near the border. The Lebanese news agency said the protesters gathered near a "surveillance camera, a communications device and a solar panel" east of the village of Mays al-Jabal. Lebanon is still officially at war with the Jewish state, and around 1,000 UN peacekeepers are deployed in the country's south. The UN resolution that ended a 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah provided that the Lebanese army deploy in the south of the country, including in areas previously controlled by the Shiite movement. Hezbollah fighters south of the Litani River had to disarm, but the area has continued to be a bastion of the group. A decade after the conflict, Israel is still weary of Hezbollah's arsenal. Israel has carried out air strikes against Hezbollah targets in neighbouring Syria, where the group has sent thousands of fighters to back the Damascus regime.